Liberty Ships, the "Ugly
Duckling" workhorses of World War II, were built in 13 states by
15 companies in 18 shipyards. The first of 2,710 Liberty ships, the
SS Patrick Henry, was launched in September 1941, after 150 days of
construction. (The shipyard was built at the same time as the ship.)

In 1941 and 1942 German U-Boats
and surface raiders sank 2,963 Allied ships, while the U.S. built 863
to replace them (not many freighters were built elsewhere). As workers
gained experience, the shipyards speeded up production of these "expendable"
ships. At an average cost of $1.8 million, a Liberty had to make just
one trip to be considered successful.

Photo of launching of the SS Robert E. Peary

Prefabricated sections traveled
on railroad flatcars from throughout the United States to be put together
the same way Henry Ford assembled cars before the war. Eventually, the
shipyards created a competition amongst themselves for speed in building
a Liberty Ship.

Prefabricated section of
Liberty ship on railroad flatcar

Permanente Metals Corporation
(Kaiser) No.2 Yard in Richmond, California won the competition. The
keel for the SS Robert E. Peary was laid at 12:01 AM on November
8, 1942 and 250,000 parts weighing about 14,000,000 pounds were assembled
in 4 days, 15 hours and 29 minutes. On November 12, 1942, she was launched.

After the final fitting out,
the SS Robert E. Peary went to war on November 22, 1942 carrying 17
U.S. Naval Armed Guard and 43 Merchant Mariners. Her voyages included:

Food and war supplies from
San Francisco to Noumea, New Caledonia; nitrate from Espiritu Santo,
Guadalcanal, Suva, Antofagasto (Chile), Canal Zone, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba),
arriving Savannah on April 3, 1943.

During
this voyage the SS Robert E. Peary saved American soldiers trapped near
the beach of a Pacific island held by the Japanese. While under enemy
fire, the Peary maneuvered close to shore and shot a line ashore from
her Lykes gun, over which she supplied the troops with ammunition and
food until they defeated the attack. (Illustration from Mast Magazine,
Oct. 1944)

On May 7, 1943 left New York,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Liverpool England, returned to New York on July
15, 1943. Shipped POW's from Casablanca to Norfolk, then to Jacksonville,
New York, Lock Ewe, (Scotland), Boston, Halifax, Liverpool; men and
equipment from Cardiff (Wales) to Omaha Beach on June 7, 1944 under
constant attack. Returned to England and headed for Normandy again on
June 13. Continued "shuttle" service to Normandy until September
18, when she sailed for New York for repairs. The SS Robert E. Peary
made a few more trans-Atlantic crossings during 1945. Her final voyage,
without her Armed Guard crew, took her from Boston to Yokohama to Colon
(Panama).

The valiant SS Robert E.
Peary was scrapped in June 1963 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Source:
"The Liberty ships of World War Two" published as a Special
Edition of The Pointer, USN Armed Guard WWII Veterans, 115 Wall Creek
Drive, Rolesville, NC 27571, August 1998
The MAST Magazine, October 1944